Extended weekend trips were most in demand in 1984.

Short breaks best meet the growing need of many holidaymakers for flexible travel times. In the 1984 holiday season, the extended weekend trip of 2 to 4 days was the most popular type of holiday. One in four short break takers (24 %) chose a weekend trip in 1984, and almost one in three (29 %) opted for a 3- to 4-day trip.

According to a new representative survey by the BAT Leisure Research Institute on the travel habits of short-break holidaymakers, the two aforementioned short-break holiday types found more resonance overall than, for example, the 5- to 7-day trip (25 %) or even the 8- to 13-day trip (16 %).

„With extended weekend trips, short-break travelers can get more vacation time with fewer vacation days,“ says Professor Dr. Horst W. Opaschowski, Scientific Director of the BAT Leisure Research Institute: „Building bridges is the new buzzword for short breaks: Weekends are cleverly combined with public holidays (e.g., Christmas, Easter, Ascension Day, May 1st, Pentecost, June 17th) and an additional vacation day to create blocks of three to five days off. This newly gained free time is then used for short breaks – to take a break and recharge while skiing, surfing, sailing, or swimming, or to discover and experience something new in depth: This also explains the above-average growth rates for city breaks and study trips.“.

In a time of declining real incomes, the widespread interest in short trips is not solely a consequence of a changing attitude towards holidays and travel: Almost one in three short-break travelers (31%) had to forgo a longer trip "for financial reasons" in 1984. Financial reasons were cited primarily by residents of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (effects of the strike), by 14- to 29-year-olds, and by the unemployed.

For almost half of all short-break travelers (45%), the short trips undertaken in 1984 represented a substitute for longer vacations. They turned financial necessity into a virtue of time management. The short trip became an intensive vacation, condensing the experiences of a longer trip into a shorter timeframe. 

In contrast to these short-term travelers, who could become long-term vacationers again in the long run, one in four short-term vacationers (27 %) state that they are short-term travelers "on principle" and "generally only take short trips." A further 26 percent indicate that they like to take short trips spontaneously and without planning.

These two groups – the principled and the spontaneous travelers – probably contribute most to the uncertainty in the travel industry. They are late bookers by choice. And what travel agencies might perceive as hesitancy is actually an expression of inner calm and a time-efficient mindset: they have a keen sense of time and money. Spontaneous travel at a low price (special offers) is clearly most easily achieved through late booking.